Flavored beverages, for example, flavored coffees, are very popular with consumers. In preparing a flavored beverage, it is possible to add the flavor at various stages, including at an earlier stage in the production of the flavored beverage, for example at a bulk production facility, or at a later stage, such as when the flavored beverage is being dispensed to the consumer. In the following description, the focus is on flavored coffee, however similar principles may be applied to the flavoring of other beverages.
As an example of flavoring earlier in the production process, a particular flavor of coffee may be brewed directly from coffee beans that have been treated with a flavoring liquid. This process has the benefit that it is a somewhat cheaper bulk process, however, oils and essences from such flavored coffee beans can leave residual traces of the flavoring compounds in coffee brewing machines and in the containers used to contain the brewed coffee or to store the unbrewed coffee. The residual traces of the flavoring compounds can negatively affect the perceived taste of other flavors of coffee, and of unflavored coffee brewed with the same brewing machines or stored in the same container at a later time.
Accordingly, in order to avoid cross-contamination of different flavors of coffee with one another, it has been known to use separate machines, or at least separate components (e.g. grinders, pots, thermal containers, filter reservoirs, etc.) for a single machine, to brew and store each flavor of coffee. However, this duplication of equipment increases capital costs, and does not take into account human errors that may lead to different pieces of coffee brewing equipment and/or individual machines being used for multiple flavors of coffee. Also, it is in most cases impractical for individual consumers to purchase different coffee-brewing machines (or components) for each flavor of coffee they may want to consume.
As an example of flavoring at a later stage, flavored coffee can also be produced by adding a liquid or powdered flavoring agent to a cup or pot of unflavored coffee. Highly concentrated flavoring compounds are typically very potent, meaning that minute amounts (e.g. on the order of 0.01 ml and sometimes less) may affect the flavor of an 8 oz beverage. Retail coffee vendors or home consumers do not typically have reliable and practical means for measuring out such small amounts of a pure liquid flavoring compound each time a particular flavor of coffee is desired.
Accordingly, concentrated flavoring compounds used to flavor coffee are typically diluted with a suitable carrier, such as ethyl alcohol or propylene glycol. However, ethyl alcohol leads to an intoxicating effect in people when consumed in significant amounts, and also should not be consumed in combination with certain medicines. Furthermore, propylene glycol, in the concentrations commonly used in liquid flavorings, adds an undesirable aftertaste to the flavored coffee or other beverage. It is thus desirable to use as little propylene glycol as possible in a liquid flavoring. In other words, a reduction in the amount of propylene glycol used to dilute a pure flavoring compound to produce a usable liquid flavoring improves the taste of the beverage to which the flavoring liquid is added since the aftertaste associated with the propylene glycol is also reduced.
One factor affecting how concentrated (or dilute) the flavoring liquid can be, in a practical sense for it to be usable in a retail or home environment, is the ability to reliably measure out small volumes of the resulting flavoring liquid. Currently available measuring devices and methods permit retail coffee vendors and home consumers to measure amounts of flavoring liquids that are in the order of several milliliters. Consequently, a typical dose of a commercially available flavoring liquid is on the order of 5 mL, which means that the concentrated flavoring compound has been diluted by a substantial amount of a carrier such as propylene glycol.
Further, particularly in a retail environment, it is important to be able to dispense a consistent amount of flavoring for each cup of coffee produced so that the consumer does not notice any changes in the taste of a particular flavored coffee from time to time. Individual packets of flavoring having the precise amounts needed could be used in such a situation, however, unless a large amount of carrier is used, these packages would be quite small. Further, in a retail environment, individual packages can be time consuming and the individual serving a flavored beverage may not choose the right package for cup size or succeed in placing all of the flavoring from the package directly into the cup, resulting in inconsistencies in the flavoring of a beverage.
As such, there is a need for an improved fluid dispensing system suitable for dispensing liquid flavorings.